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ahead of myself

Self Portrait - Dan Beck - digital painting 2007

Multiple meanings are to me as much fun as multiple solutions - and generally more obvious than all the different ways to get to a solution to a problem…

and yes I believe there is almost always more than one way to solve any problem.

In most cases, I find myself thinking through all the things that need to be done in a project and try to foresee the obstacles. Somewhere along the line, I got the idea that the most efficient way was the best way.

I am no longer certain that either that is true or that there even is such a thing as the best way. Sometimes the longer route is the better - and most of the time we can not see our way around all the obstacles anyway.

In art and music - I seem to know this. I start and work around the problems as they come up; but in life - I sometimes think I can no more teach myself than I can anyone else …

such is life.

Listen or View

• Don’t Get Ahead of Yourself - track 4 of the Red Eye Recordings | Dan Beck | 1danband - they say “you can’t see the forest through the trees” but if one is only focused on the forest one can’t see the trees either
• Listening - outhouse studios commentary on what this means and the recording process- although it does not touch on my recent assertion that listening is one of the most important things separating music from noise
• Where teaching oneself and listening coincide - this sounds like some young question and answer session - but a good answer and pertinent I think

Creating Changes Rules

Self Portrait - digital art - finger painting - Dan Beck November 2007

I have not been writing much - rather formulating some next moves - next art - next music projects. Too much of the blogging time, we write just to write - to bring attention to our work or simply share into cyberspace.

Whether I am able or not - my hope from here is to write when it is right - when I have something new to share.

My previous self-portrait done earlier this year was done the way I do most of my work - from my head with some tweaking from visual inspection (when available).

This self portrait - also an exercise - of how well can I paint with my fingers? utilized the camera of my new laptop.

I don’t really like the idea of painting from a photo - seems a step removed to me - but I couldn’t resist the technology. And although it is a perfectly acceptable practice in digital art to paint and alter a photograph - that is not the tact I took here - just used it as a model.

See Also

• Art Not to be Sold - recent artwork, work for other purposes, and work I am undecided on how I want to sell or am simply saving for local purchase only - a guide to blog articles
• Creating Changes Rules - whether the verb is “Changes” or “Rules” - I am not the only one who has noticed